


Dance The Night Away

by InterPlanetaryGirl



Series: We Are Most Alive When We're In Love [1]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Character Death Mentioned, Childhood Friends, Civil War Compliant, Cute Ending, Enhanced Senses, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Homecoming compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Mutant Harry Osborn, Mutant Peter Parker, Neglectful Norman, Nightmares, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Panic Attacks, Pedophilia mentioned, Peter does dance, Sokovia Accords, Tony Stark adopts Peter Parker, Xavier Institute, ballet and tap, cute relationship, cute tho, i guess, mostly just mentioned, on that note, really near the end, slight angst, sorta - Freeform, theyre sweet boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 02:07:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20574674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterPlanetaryGirl/pseuds/InterPlanetaryGirl
Summary: Peter’s expecting the worst but hoping for the best.Harry was the one who asked if he could reveal their relationship somehow, and Peter said he could go for it as long as it wasn’t humiliating in some way. He expected maybe a picture on his instagram or twitter announcing their one and a half year relationship or something, expressing his love for Peter.***Title has nothing to really do with the entire fic tbh so I'll maybe change it. Mostly just Harry/Peter fluff ig. thats what it was meant to be





	Dance The Night Away

**Author's Note:**

> It's nearly 4:30am so enjoy this which I have spent like 8 hours writing tonight :)))) 
> 
> p.s. I based Harry on both Marvel's Spider-Man cartoon (2017) and Dane Dehaan in regards to looks since I originally thought of this months ago when watching Valerian, but younger, obvs, which is why i also say the cartoon one, and peter is a mix of TH and the spidey 2017 cartoon
> 
> EDIT 23/05/20: I've made some minor edits to the grammar but not the story bc honestly my brain is melting and I'm only going through this because I'm adding a sequel so :)

Peter was nervous, but that honestly wasn't that unusual, a lot of things made him nervous; attending a ballet for the first time with his parents, _ asking _for ballet lessons after seeing how beautiful it was actually, then attending his first class, starting kindergarten, first grade, the list goes on and on. 

But this was different: he was meeting the son of the man his dad worked with. He's met Norman and Emily Osborn before, but never their son, Harry as Miss Emily calls him. He likes Miss Emily a lot because she was nice to him and made him laugh when she commented that her husband wasn't as mean as he maybe was scary (and he _ was _ scary). But their son was another matter: he was a little bit of an outcast, even at five years old he knew that, being the only boy in his ballet class, and being picked on in kindergarten because he was in ballet in the first place, as well as having more advanced skills than all of his current year mates. 

Peter tried to not care as much as he could, and the fact he loved ballet and learning more than anything - except his family of course - helped to encourage him to keep going. Especially when Aunt May and Uncle Ben would always come to his lessons if he asked them to and told him how graceful he was becoming. 

But Harry was six, older than him and already well known to the same extent as Peter's own parents, if not slightly more, and Peter was nervous about meeting him. 

Miss Emily meets them at the door of the mansion and leads them through the halls, telling Peter's parents they can go find Norman in his office while she introduces the boys. 

His parents agree and tell him to call if he needs anything, but they're sure he'll have lots of fun with Harry. Peter agrees, nodding as confidently as he could, before accepting the hand Miss Emily held out for him. 

She continues walking with him and takes him upstairs but two floors, leading to a large door made from a dark wood which was slightly open. She pushed it open to reveal a young black-haired boy sitting cross-legged on the carpet in front of a pile of legos. 

“Harry,” Miss Emily calls out slightly, getting the boy's attention. “This is Peter, do you remember me telling you about him?” She asks, crouching down and waiting for Harry to walk over to them. Peter, already wearing thick-rimmed square glasses because of his problems seeing, nervously shuffles and adjusts them as he smiles. 

Harry looked over and when he looked up Peter could only see the bright blueness of his eyes when it came to how he wanted to proceed he cautiously walked forward into the room and made sure to look carefully around before approaching.

They spoke briefly before going further into the room.

Harry led Peter into the room making sure that he was ok with continuing playing with Legos rather than doing something else but offered another choice if he wanted to. Peter was happy to continue as he was and joined Harry and building various Lego models, it went a lot quicker with both of them. Because they were able to make more there was less for them to do as they carried on through the day. Snacks were brought them at some point in the afternoon which they both enjoyed careful talking about their likes and interests Harry was the first boy that Peter had met who didn't make fun of him doing ballet and Peter was the first that could keep up with Harry in an intellectual conversation despite being a year younger than Harry himself.

By the time it was ready to go home for Peter he made sure that Harry knew how to contact him thanks to prompting from his parents, though Miss Emily assured him that it would be fine and they could contact the house at anytime and if they weren't home then the butler would arrange for them to call back later.

Harry and Peter become quick friends and when it came down to it they remained that way throughout the rest of their childhood.

* * *

Peter was 6 when his parents died and Harry was 7.

* * *

While Peter lost both of his parents when he was 6 when Harry lost his mother at 8 he found it to be more devastating than if his father died, Harry thought.

Harry was the forbidden from crying at the funeral it was so that he could not be taken advantage of in the future not be given a bad reputation by the Press. Peter tried not to cry as well but there was very little point in trying as he been crying since he first heard. It was almost as bad as when his own parents died. Miss Emily was like a third parent to him when he visited Harry's house but ultimately she died and unfortunately they would have to move on.

In time, Harry became more withdrawn from his own home, so spent time visiting Peter more and more often at Peter's aunt and uncles apartment which they had bought not long after Peter had initially moved in with them. Thankfully for Peter, Richard and Mary had left the quite a sizeable inheritance for Peter to use once he reached age 16, but this meant that they also left funds for his education and a few necessities over the years meaning that they would not have to spend as much time stressing over how to save for Peter's future college necessarily. Peter’s ambitions live more with and biochemistry than anything like his father before him this made it so that he would be an asset in the future of the science world.

* * *

When Peter discovered Tony Stark he was over the moon. The man was a genius who attended MIT at the age of 15, he revolutionised weaponry, and while that didn't appeal to Peter the amount of PhDs that the man had acquired over the years did. When Peter told Harry about the man Harry explains that he had met him once during a failed business deal with his father. Peter was jealous at first but he learnt not to worry too much about it. Peter ignored what the tabloids said, because he didn't care about that - he cared about the man's education and what he knew he could aspire to be.

* * *

When Peter was 8 he got the chance to visit the Stark Expo, and it was thanks to Harry who gave him tickets as a gift which led to aunt May being the one who would be taking the pair of them. They were excited for the trip and had a calendar in each of their rooms so they could cross out each day which passed until the day. 

The man had become Iron Man the year before and when it came down to it he was a superhero now. It was an even better reason to admire the man in Peter’s opinion, and Harry had developed a stronger opinion on him aside for simply because it made his dad angry. The man had taken what he'd known, in a place where he had access to limited technology, no outside communication, zero idea if he was still being searched for, and changed what his weapons were used for. Peter would like to be like that, to be as innovative as that when he gets older, going as far as to study up on the same areas Tony Stark has doctorates in. Harry found it weird, but could understand it to an extent. 

Aunt May still wasn’t his biggest fan and Uncle Ben never gave his opinion, leading Peter and Harry to believe it wasn’t “fit” for their ears. 

* * *

Peter and Harry felt that they were changing however by the time they reach the age of 10.

Peter noticed that there was some anomalous growths under his arms but when they snuck into the Labs to investigate what it was it was nothing poisonous or harmful to his body. Harry however had caused pencil to fly across the room. He hadn’t intended to at first; it was an accident but when Peter didn't believe him that it was an accident he went to go demonstrated again and again and again until the bits of paper flying in all directions of his bedroom. This was instead of doing homework. It was a mess by the time Harry ran out of steam to do it. 

* * *

They went to the same school and doing the same classes despite Peter being a year younger than them technically it came about because he was so smart that he got bumped ahead a grade. They practically lived in each other's pockets and while Norman wasn't particularly thrilled about it on Harry's behalf he was pleased that, with help, he was progressing. There was even a running joke that Pete would be head of the biochemistry division by the time he was 21 at Oscorp because of how quickly he was advancing. 

When Harry was 11 he was sent to a boarding school by Norman. For Harry and Peter it was traumatising as they'd only ever had each other, never having been separated but would be now - with Harry being sent to England and Peter having to remain in Queens, New York.

They managed though.

They wrote emails to each other throughout the school year updating them both on what was happening at their individual schools. Peter continued learning while missing Harry and Harry kept misbehaving while missing Peter. They saw each other during the holidays, going back to their previous ways of living in each other’s pockets.

* * *

Harry was the first person Peter told about Skip, a kid that was older than them both at seventeen and seemed to like him. Harry was upset for a little while because he couldn’t be there all the time for Peter to keep him company anymore and encourage him. 

Harry was the first person Peter told about Skip when he started to make him feel slightly uncomfortable but he didn’t know why - it was just a feeling in the back of his head, like a warning signal. Harry told him to be careful. 

Harry was the first person Peter told about Skip when he- when he touched Peter and did things he didn’t like and made him feel dirty and gross and like he wanted to scrape his own skin off somehow. 

Harry was the one to encourage him to tell his Aunt and Uncle, and Harry was the one who was on loudspeaker the entire time he told them, and then when they drove him to the hospital to have checks done - because they were needed for his health and safety, they assured him. Harry was also the first one to encourage it when May said she was going to kill him. He offered to ask his dad if there were any people he knew. 

Harry was the first one to hear him cry about his nightmares on the phone and offer comfort, and the one to essentially force Peter to go to therapy about his nightmares and his feelings - “I’m going to call a therapist and pay them for the sessions, and then I’m going to pay somebody in security to haul you there if they have to, and I’m sure May and Ben would agree with me.” 

* * *

Norman had started teaching Harry the family business how to run the company which was fine by Harry, to an extent since he still got to play with Peter, still got to see him. But it was stressful and tiring and it was making his powers come out with more intensity sometimes. 

Peter's powers were developing as well: he's gotten stuck on several different surfaces and made sure that he was being inconspicuous with how much weight he was currently able to lift without much effort at the moment. Only Harry knew about it. 

When Peter was 13 and Harry 14, Peter was accepted as an early admission to Midtown school of tech it was exciting for him and Harry congratulate it him thoroughly, picking him up and squeezing as much life out of him as he could, even though they knew Peter could easily escape should he so choose to do so, but Peter enjoyed indulging Harry more than half the time when it came to physical contact, what with being his primary source since his mother died, followed quickly by Peter’s aunt and uncle. 

* * *

While it wasn’t unusual for people to get early admission to Midtown necessarily, they were always only one year younger than the average freshman at 14, whereas Peter had just turned 13 the day before term started. 

Admittedly it did make him a slight target for bullies since he quickly rose to the top of the class with his grades as well as the fact teachers immediately took a liking to him because of his “nice” demeanor. Okay, maybe he was nice to his teachers, but they were people he should respect and he had no reason to be mean to them. Also he was awkward as hell, still, like when he met Harry all those years ago, not much had changed on that front he could say. 

But regardless. He made friends with a boy named Ned, who was really nice and into a lot of the same things that Peter was, and also had an early admission - although he was fourteen, with a birthday halfway through the year so already was freshman age. 

Ned liked Star Wars just as much as he did, and there was only so much time he could put up with where Harry would use his powers to open and close the DVD slot before they could even begin playing the film. 

It was a good thing they both enjoyed Star Trek and Lord of the Rings, otherwise they would have much more trouble finding things to watch. 

But, regardless, again. 

* * *

He didn’t mention anything about knowing Harry or Norman to Ned at all, instead using the time he wasn’t in dance class four times a week (two ballet, two tap) to hang out with him at the library or one of their houses. 

He left Saturday and Sunday free unless Harry let him know beforehand that they couldn’t skype that weekend, typically skyping with Harry late Friday nights for himself while it was early morning for Harry, and then again on Saturday nights. They did message each other throughout the week but the weekends were their times to skype, and see each others face. 

Peter had come to the conclusion long ago now that he loved Harry, would like to kiss him and be held by him, and he doesn’t know what would actually change about their relationship as it is now if Harry felt the same, so he doesn’t say anything in case he doesn’t and then it becomes awkward and they grow apart. Knowing each other for eight years now or not, Peter has seen plenty of TV shows where the best friends grow apart. They’ve managed to remain close thus far, hopefully they stay that way. 

After learning about the fact Ned cannot keep secrets, even from his mother, May and Harry agree that he shouldn’t tell Ned about their friendship because they don’t want Peter to be in the spotlight. 

It would have been fine if Peter’s parents or Harry’s mother were still around to help them deal with the media, but Norman probably wouldn’t care further than making sure to put it in a good light for Oscorp, and wouldn’t bother to hier anybody to help them, and May and Ben had no idea what to do to keep the pair of them safe, even Harry only knew what his father taught him, and he was only taught about looking good in paparazzi shots or in official galas and meetings. Or how to avoid being seen at all. 

Really, it was best for everybody, and it would be a while before anything actually came of their friendship to the public. 

* * *

Peter took a trip to Oscorp in his first year in Midtown, and it was nice to see it from a more tourist/intern side, because even though he knew a few of the people there thanks to he and Harry being down in the labs since they were young at times, it was a whole new perspective and a slightly more information-based tour rather than just messing about with things they probably shouldn’t be. 

He gets bitten by a spider while there, and it dies instantly once it’s done so, but he doesn’t know exactly what it is until he speaks to Harry about it. Apparently it was a part of a genetic coding research project, and all the spiders were genetically modified so one must have gotten loose. Harry told him to not worry about it thought since he wasn’t seemingly affected by it. 

* * *

Harry had been the one to bring it up, when he was back for the summer and wanted to talk to Peter, but Peter only knew that because he was showing his nerves clearly on camera in the week leading up to his return to the states. 

They were in Peter’s bedroom, Peter sat cross-legged on the bed and Harry pacing in the cluttered room. 

Harry was now fifteen and Peter would be fourteen in a couple of weeks, but to Peter it seemed like Harry had hit some kind of growth and maturity spurt that would last him for the next few years, he was kinda nervous to see what would come of it when he himself was still quite small. Not as scrawny as he perhaps seemed from a distance and by the fact he wore baggy clothes, but regardless people thought he was scrawny. In Midtown he kept that he did dance on the low because he didn’t know how people (Eugene “Flash” Thompson) would react and he was bullied and made an outcast enough as it was. 

“I don’t know how to say it, so I’m just gonna say it,” Harry said, bringing Peter out of his stupor and his full attention on Harry, trying to not get distracted again by the way his dark hair flopped over his eyes or the way he pushed it back to look directly at Peter with his bright blue eyes, actually unnerving Peter slightly. “I love you. Pretty sure I’m in love with you but I definitely love you romantically.” The words spilled from Harry’s mouth as a sort-of babble, and it took Peter’s brain a second to actually catch up and process what he was saying. 

“What?” _ Great response Pete, _ he chastised himself. “I mean- I- that’s great!” Peter said, smiling giddily as he jumped up to the balls of his feet and started bouncing slightly. “I- I feel the same way too,” Peter stopped and ducked his head slightly before looking up at Harry once again as a smile bloomed across his face. 

“You do?” 

“I do,” Peter confirmed, looking up, staring Harry directly in the eye and tilting his head to the side slightly as if daring him to challenge what Peter said. 

“You do,” Harry breathed out, a clear sigh of relief as he stepped closer to Peter and cupped his face, using one hand to brush some curls back behind his ear. 

They didn’t kiss like might have been expected of them. They breathed together for several moments, as their foreheads came and rested together, seemingly breathing a sigh of relief at a weight lifted off both their shoulders before Harry moved again and rested his head on Peter’s shoulder despite being the taller of the two of them. 

Neither of them could stop smiling though. 

Like Peter hoped, nothing really changed aside from the fact they said they loved each other, which they had even done before they said it romantically, but was _ romantic _ now so that was really nice, and it gave Peter butterflies every time they did, even more than before because he became giddy from excitement at the fact his feelings were returned. 

Harry kissed Peter on his birthday, thankfully not having to leave for another week, meaning that he was there for a week after Peter went back to school, usually being found lounging on the couch when Peter came home from school with sweatpants and a hoodie on, stolen from Peter more often than not if he had come straight from business with his father. 

* * *

When it came to leaving Harry wouldn’t let Peter go with him, the same as the previous years, but he did stay the night before this time, being trusted enough to be up and ready for a car to pick him up when his father conceded and arranged for it. 

May quickly knew about their relationship, and understood why Peter was even more upset than usual when Harry left that morning just before Peter himself had to go to class. 

“If they weren’t in opposite directions, I would have insisted we take you to school in the car with us,” Harry teased him, hands around his waist as Peter rested his head on Harry’s shoulder, squeezing him almost too tightly with his superior strength as he had the previous years. Peter simply hummed in response as his aunt and uncle watched on. “You’ll be fine, I’ll be fine,” Harry assured. “Love you,” he whispered quietly, as if trying to create his own privacy in a room that also contained Peter’s guardians, even as they looked away to aid in this semblance of privacy. 

“Love you too,” Peter whispered back, before they pulled away simultaneously, sharing a chaste kiss on the lips before Harry kissed Peter’s forehead. 

* * *

Life moved on. 

Life was much the same as the year before. 

Peter took dance classes, continued to be the best in his classes, continued to get bullied, kept hanging out with Ned, kept skyping Harry - now with added “I love you”’s and “I miss you”’s. 

Harry kept showing off his telekinetic ability on video to the best of his ability to show how much he could continuously lift, or how much he could now lift. It was impressive to Peter, and he was very proud of how Harry was improving. 

His own powers weren’t doing quite as well, in his opinion. 

While it probably was a gradual build-up, the way his senses suddenly seemed to be so heightened hit him like a truck, because one day it was like his hearing was normal, if sensitive, and the next he was hearing voices he recognised as those from three floors down from their apartment at the very least, and when he focused he could hear the noise of everything in the apartment block and for several streets in every direction. 

It was hell, and he couldn’t help the small scream he let out as he couldn’t tune it out, and it began developing into a migraine. 

It was how his Uncle found him, crouched on the floor with his head between his hands in pure agony and not knowing what to do. 

* * *

They let him have the day off school, and gave him some medication that didn’t effect him at all. 

This continued for three days until he managed to calm his senses down. 

All he knew about what had happened over the past few days were that his illness had been passed off as an unmoving migraine to the school and Harry and Ned when they called, as he was told afterwards. 

He was coddled by his aunt for the next day and a half. 

They had been going to work during the days because while they could afford to take the time off, if only for a few days, there was nothing they could do for Peter and the medication didn’t work for him at all and he didn’t want to be spoken to, touched, or be exposed to bright lights. It affected his appetite massively, despite the fact that he had in fact been taking more food into his system. 

He was exhausted, having been only catching cat-naps when he could no longer stay awake due to the pain, and was exhausted on Friday, the only day he had been theoretically okay to go to school, but couldn't because he was so exhausted, and messaged Harry as full an explanation as he could, explaining how his senses went haywire and he couldn’t do anything except listen to everything further than a human’s hearing range. He spent the rest of the morning resting, waking for lunch to eat, before going back to sleep until the evening. 

Harry called him that evening and even though Peter didn’t exactly look his best, they’d looked worse with each other before, and their relationship would only go downhill and be short lived if they began acting like different people to one another. 

Harry expressed his concerns about Peter and the fact he should tell his guardians, because this was no longer just affecting himself, or something he could control as easily, but Peter denied doing anything for now. It was one incident, he would learn to control it in the future. 

Within a week, Peter got a package from Harry in the mail: two pairs of designer sunglasses and a pair of high-quality noise-cancelling headphones. 

There were different lenses in the pairs, one being almost-completely black-out lenses, and the other just being slightly darker than usual. One for when he doesn’t need to see where he’s going, and one he can where when he’s out in the city. 

Peter sighed slightly, but was reluctant to be mad at his boyfriend because it was a very thoughtful, if expensive, gift. He would have to hide it from Flash so he wouldn’t be accused of anything or possibly have them broken - the idiot would do something like that, Peter knew. 

* * *

Peter found that he couldn’t wear his headphones all the time, as much as he wanted to, because they were uncomfortable to sleep in, and while he knew he could either fix them or Harry would buy him another pair without complaint or even comment, he doesn’t want to chance breaking them. 

It was awful. 

He could hear so far into the city. 

He could hear the things that only happened in the city at night. 

He could hear the crying. 

He could hear the violence. 

He could even hear the breaking of bones if they were close buy. 

It made him feel sick. 

He didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t want to burden Harry with what he was hearing. 

He didn’t want to reveal his mutant abilities to Aunt May and Uncle Ben. 

He didn’t know what to _ do _. 

So he went out, he walked out past his curfew more than he should, and he would interrupt what was happening in some cases, or make sure it didn’t happen in the first place. 

He came home with a split lip more often than not, and even bloody knuckles once when a man tried to overpower him in his anger that Peter cut off his view of a young woman and she managed to get out of view. 

He decided he wouldn’t be pushed around like he was in school. 

He was stronger than these men and he could do something about it, for the most part. 

* * *

May and Ben were really not happy about it though, and he hadn’t told Harry anything about it since he would typically still reply to messages as if he were just in his room still, working on homework or something. 

There’s an argument, and what happens next is a blur in Peter’s mind, because he leaves, walks and walks for several blocks, sunglasses on to hide from the fluorescent lights that are lighting up the otherwise dark streets, and he doesn’t have his headphones, them being in his room and not bothering to go back for them. 

He isn’t sure whether or not he hates himself for it or not. 

When he hears his Uncle’s voice, trying to reason with the same voice who had been in the small store Peter had been in just minutes before. 

And Peter breaks into a run, sprinting, already nearly hyperventilating as he gets close to the scene, just a few seconds away when the gunshot sounds, and Peter stumbles, but manages to stay upright until he is by his Uncle’s side, sobbing, choking on his breaths and unable - unwanting - to catch them. 

He takes Ben’s hand as he lay on the ground, unable to say anything but Peter can still hear his heart, as slow as it is still going. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry-” he keeps repeating it as he closes his eyes, listening, focusing on the sound of blood in his veins and the beating of his heart. 

Peter’s eyes close and he rests his head on his uncle’s chest, heaving breaths making it difficult to calm down, but he feels his uncle struggle slightly, and then put his hand on top of Peter’s hair, stroking it softly a few times. He could hear the ambulance but it was too far away. 

Peter looked up and looked his uncle directly in his eyes and saw forgiveness, love, two things that Peter couldn’t believe his uncle could possibly think to give him, before his eyes closed. 

Peter knew what was coming, could not stop the slowing of his breaths, the slow pulse of blood in veins slowing down further, and the stutter of his heart. 

There was too much saliva in his mouth and he almost thought that he was going to be sick for a second, but he held himself together as the paramedics arrived and took both him and his uncle to the hospital, and Peter knew that while his uncle had both health and life insurance, as well as some savings, he and May would likely take a hit from the bills in the next couple of months, but Peter reassured himself by reminding himself that not everything he did, like education and dance classes, came from May and Ben’s paychecks, so he was thankful, he wouldn’t want to be even more of a burden - May would probably refuse to let him drop his classes. 

He managed to calm down on the way to the hospital and managed to call May once there, where he began hyperventilating on the phone but managed to get it across that Uncle Ben had been shot and hadn’t made it - they’d tried to revive him in the ambulance but it hadn’t worked and Peter knew it wouldn’t. 

May arrived within twenty minutes, probably having sped slightly but Peter didn’t care, as soon as she entered through the doors, he ran over to her and began apologizing profusely, unable to let go of her for even a moment until he was forced because the doctors wanted to discuss the next steps. 

He skyped Harry, knowing he would probably be getting back to his dorm room if he wasn’t already there - Peter couldn’t think straight so he couldn’t do the math in his head to figure out the time difference. He didn’t even know what time it was now, but Peter hoped Harry was back. 

Because he was in the hospital he didn’t put the camera on, but he held the phone close to his ear as he curled up tighter on himself, tucking his feet onto the uncomfortable chair he was sitting on. 

“Hey, a little early for a call don’t you think?” Harry greeted, happy to hear Peter’s voice as he always was. For a moment, Peter couldn’t speak, couldn’t think what to say, so his breath simply hitched as tears once again began falling out of his eyes and down his cheeks. “Pete? What’s wrong?” Harry asked, knowing something must be wrong since Peter always greeted him back immediately. 

“Uh, hey,” Peter said, voice rough from a clogged throat, almost. “Hey,” he tried again, coughing to clear his throat best he could, but it didn’t help, and he probably sounded hungover or something like that. “So, so- something’s happened,” Peter tried, closing his eyes and balling one hand into a fist as he rubbed at his left eye, and the other squeezed around his phone, and Peter had to concentrate to let up on the pressure before he broke it, he couldn’t break it, not now. 

“What is it Pete?” Harry sounded worried, and Peter almost laughed out of some kind of unknown hysteria. 

“It’s Unc- Uncle Ben,” he manages to squeeze out of his throat. “He got shot. He’s dead.” Peter’s voice cracked on the last word but he feels an unnatural stillness about himself now despite the fact that there are other people around. To him, in his mind, currently, there is only him, on the phone with Harry, and May, speaking to a doctor. He doesn’t even want to bother trying to eavesdrop on their conversation because he doesn’t think he could take it. 

On Harry’s end of the call, too, it sounds like he’s not even breathing, which he very well might not be. Uncle Ben was Harry’s main source of fatherly affection, both of them being treated the exact same, almost as if he thought of them both as sons, never leaving Harry out of any bonding experiences and always showing that he was proud of what Harry was doing with his grades and extra classes outside of school; something his own father hadn’t properly given him in years. 

“Uncle Ben?” 

“Yeah.” Peter takes a few deep breaths. “It- it was my fault,” he explained shakily. “I went out, because we all got in an argument. So I left. And he followed after me I guess,” Peter’s voice shook, breath catching again. “I was a few streets away when it happened, but I heard Uncle Ben try to reason with this guy- and I knew the guy because he had just robbed a store I was in like two minutes before!” He couldn’t help his raised voice, and looked at the other people around with slight apology. “It’s my fault he’s dead, Harry,” Peter whispered into the phone. 

“No, it isn’t,” Harry immediately denies, sounding so sure of himself that Peter almost believes him. “Peter no matter what, your Aunt and Uncle love you, always. They in no way will blame you for this, at all. You are not the cause. This guy, whoever he is, is the cause of Uncle Ben’s death and everything surrounding it. Not you.” 

“I wish I could believe you,” Peter sighs, wiping his eyes and sniffling slightly, using his sleeve to then wipe away the snot that began dripping a few minutes ago. 

There was a sigh from Harry on the phone. 

“I’ll be home soon time, and I’ll stay for as long as you want me to, or my dad threatens me about going back to England.” Already Peter could hear the slight noises of draws being opened and things being tossed places, I already ordered a plane ticket as you were speaking so you can’t say no,” Harry told him, and Peter laughed wetly. After a moment, Harry spoke again. “Do you want me to talk?” Peter just hummed his agreement, and so Harry began talking, like he always did when Peter needed help coming down from anxiety or panic attacks and wanted to just hear his voice. 

One night (for Peter, Harry was just doing his assigned reading) Harry read Lord of the Flies to Peter, who fell asleep after nearly an hour, and then they continued reading it together, either one of them taking the chance to read it aloud once Harry sent Peter his own copy in epub format. 

It was nice, somewhat of a routine, sharing books and reading them aloud to the other when nervous or scared. 

Right now Harry was speaking about his Ancient History class, where he was learning about Cleopatra’s reign at the moment, although they were nearing the end of it. 

Peter didn’t fall asleep to the sound of Harry’s voice, but it was a near thing once he calmed down and all the adrenaline was out of his system. 

Harry was getting ready to go down to the taxi he ordered after he finished emailing his teachers and father (plus his father’s assistant) to let them know he would be going back to America, narrating it as he typed, as he did everything he was supposed to, even using one of the school phones to call for the taxi so he didn’t have to hang up on Peter while still using wifi there. They wouldn’t be able to do it for much longer but it turned out that Peter was the one who had to hang up first, May coming out of the room with the doctor, wiping her red and puffy eyes as she grips her bag in her fists, clearly more upset than angry, so Peter thought it was safe to stand up and approach her slowly. 

“I love you,” he told Harry. “But I gotta go, Aunt May is back.” 

“Alright, I love you too, I’ll see you soon,” Harry told him, and Peter hummed his agreement once more before they ended the call. 

“Hi May,” he said, speaking timidly for one of the first times he can remember directly _ to _ May. 

“Hi sweetie,” she whispered, relenting her grip on her bag in one hand but pulling him close with both of them kissing his hair and breathing him in, although he had sweat so much from anxiety in the previous hours he’s sure he didn’t smell at all pleasant. 

It was midnight now, or close enough, so he didn’t need his sunglasses on when they walked outside because it was sparsely lit, but kept them on anyway because they were a small comfort of Harry being there when he could not yet actually be. 

They made their way home and fell asleep together in Aunt May’s bed - now hers and hers alone, and they cried together until they fell asleep, May going first. 

Peter slept for a few hours but it was a restless sleep and he woke up instantly as soon as there was a knock on the door outside, and he was assaulted with more noise than he would like all at once. It was not a happy thing. 

He answered the door to find Harry as expected, complete with his suitcase and dishevelled hair from the plane to boot. 

Peter practically launched himself at Harry, who caught him, but not without going back several steps so that he could keep them balanced. 

“Hi,” Harry whispered, removing his sunglasses to reveal his own red-rimmed eyes, placing the glasses on Peter’s nose and pushing them up upon the realisation that Peter was squinting at him to hide from the bright lights. Once that was done he picked Peter up, because despite his strength he weighed the same as if he were still ten years old, and kicked his suitcase inside the door as he carried Peter inside. 

Peter could smell the scents of both the plane and New York on Harry, as well as the scent of fresh leather that comes with every car Harry rides in, with his own scent as well as the artificial ones on top - hair gel he hadn’t removed before leaving, aftershave most likely, something highly minty like mouthwash he most likely used right before he got here. 

Everything, to him, still seemed like Harry and he could allow himself to get completely wrapped up in the fact that he was here. 

Harry moved them to the couch and let them simply sit there and breathe, Peter’s face in Harry’s neck, breathing in everything about him, both of them managing to fall asleep now. 

They get woken a few hours later by May as she comes and shakes the pair of them awake, Peter jolting out of a red-themed dream he can barely grasp the edges of but it makes him breathless with fear anyway. 

Peter and May need to discuss what will happen next and from there they will discuss more. Harry is family in every way, even if he and Peter weren’t together, and so he stays with them now, wanting to support and be supported by people who feel the loss as strongly as he does, his father not caring so much as long as he is back in England within a month and he keeps his grades up after the fact. 

They discuss about what’s going to happen next, about preparing for a funeral, about what will happen now. 

Peter is allowed to not attend school, for obvious reasons, and May calls off work, with Harry already there, and they spend the day cuddled on the couch together as a trio, both trying to distract themselves and reminiscing. 

* * *

Time goes by, though, and they host the funeral - only close friends since neither May or Ben have any other family left - and bury Ben’s body and cry and cry and cry. 

But they’re okay. 

Except Peter isn’t. 

Peter’s nightmares get worse as the weeks go on, even after Harry has to go back to England in the third week, grieving still but unable to miss more school since he’d been doing no work while in America, so he needed to catch up. 

But it replays in Peter’s mind almost constantly; the argument, the fact he left, the fact he could have stopped the mugger when he robbed the store Peter was in, hearing the gun shot, holding his uncle’s body. 

It’s not something he talks about, further than saying he had nightmares, because he doesn’t want to trouble May more than she’s already suffering and Harry can’t comfort him like they would both like what with being in England. 

He has to go back to classes and he finds his mind flashing back to the encounter in the store, the tattoos that the guy had, and the jacket he wore. 

It wasn’t that the jacket was a big deal, it was a pretty average jacket in Peter’s opinion, nothing unique about it quite frankly, but it was a three-quarter sleeved one that revealed so many of the man’s tattoos on one arm, and the singular one on his right wrist, that he was able to get a good look at. 

Peter finds himself snarling at a recreation of one of the symbols that haunts his dreams in the middle of class and being asked to pay attention by his teacher. 

They’ve all been understanding for the most part, especially when he still hands in his work and gets 98% at least. 

Even Flash has been leaving him alone in the past few weeks, apparently having some kind of sympathy cog in his brain. 

* * *

After a call with Harry one night, he still can’t sleep, but Harry has to go to some kind of meeting that Peter didn’t fully understand, so he leaves out of his window and down the fire escape. 

He leaves, and he begins testing out the limits of what he can actually do with his powers further than just having excellent and more than superhuman strength and dexterity, managing to leap from one roof to another that, even in cool spy films, are impossible to really do. He burns off steam this way, before going back to their apartment. 

He doesn’t want May to find out he was out and be worried, she’s suffered enough already. 

* * *

He decides, after it haunts him more and more as the days go on with little to truly distract him throughout the day (Ned is a wonderful friend but his distractions really don’t last long when it comes to his mind, because they’re always physical - building legos especially) and he decides he’ll do what he’s been thinking of: he’ll go out and find his uncle’s murderer, and make sure he gets his due punishment. 

There had been no real leads on where the guy was now, or if he was even in town, but Peter had a better idea of the minute details of this guy - going as far as to know his general smell, which was both disgusting and yet a useful thing to know. 

He started by putting together some kind of outfit that would keep his identity hidden, incorporating what he needed into the outfit, but mostly a pair of extremely dark goggles. 

He, again, didn’t tell anybody about it. 

Not even Harry, and he’s sure he sounded guilty when he talks to him because he’s hiding something. 

* * *

He catches his uncle’s killer and takes out his anger on the man, because he _ deserves to _, Peter thinks as he does it, but once it’s over the satisfaction is gone almost immediately and while he doesn’t exactly feel bad about who he was doing it to, he feels bad about his actual actions. 

He hauls the guy up, though he’s still passed out, and tosses him over his shoulder before taking him to the nearest police station to simply drop him off. 

When he was on his way back, he interrupted five back alley confrontations that he knows, sickeningly, were likely going to be rape, and another two that were simple muggings. 

He got home and got undressed and went straight to sleep, feeling much better about everything that happened now, knowing that the guy was going to be behind bars. 

It had taken him awhile to find the guy, and in that time he had discovered that apparently he had quite a few shady dealings and was already a wanted man. All the better for Peter then to have a guy like that off the streets. 

* * *

He becomes restless, after another few days. 

He decides to go out again, and find more bad guy to beat, and other people who need saving that otherwise wouldn’t get any help. 

He doesn’t really think of any consequences until he begins going out in the day. 

Spider-Man is the moniker he is quickly given, and he’ll give it to them. 

Since he was about 12, in times of stress he had been able to produce some kind of sticky fluid which came from the growths in his arms and came out in his wrists. It stung, but he managed to get control of it. 

He and Harry had analysed it and found out what it was made of the best they could when they were away from prying eyes of the company, so mostly in the dead of night when everybody else had already left but Peter and Harry had been staying in the penthouse apartment because they simply asked to. It was good for them and Norman didn’t care as long as nothing was destroyed in the night. His assistant who watched the boys put it down to tiredness from the excitement of the day and that was that. She slept far deeper than either of them and was easy to fool. 

So they had analysed what was coming out of Peter, and finding a chain of amino acids pretty similar to that of a spider, except it was much thicker and a lot stronger - the human equivalent of a spider's web, they decided eventually. 

Peter had even been able to come up with a theoretical version he could make from scratch himself - because it felt uncomfortable at times when it came out of his wrists, the holes opening and closing at rapid paces in the space of a few minutes. So he tried to use it as little as possible. 

And now, he had a reason to make his own webbing. Which he would get right on once asking Harry to help him order the parts - he could pay for them himself, but not source them. 

Harry did it all while asking nothing in return. 

* * *

“Spider-Man?!” Harry was whisper-yelling down the phone, which must mean he was really mad or frustrated with Peter, and Peter himself simply smiled awkwardly at the screen where Harry simply laid back in his chair, facing the ceiling, and rubbed his hands across his face. “I am….I don’t even know. I feel like I should be surprised and yet _ I’m not _. This really doesn’t surprise me. Does May know?” 

Peter looked at him like he was speaking out of his behind because - it was true. 

“Why would I do that?” Peter asked. 

“So she knows what you’re doing and you can reassure her that you’re safe.” 

“But she’ll stop me from doing it, see it as dangerous!” Peter protested, and Harry’s eyes snapped to Peter’s face and his face became cooler than Peter had ever seen. 

“That’s probably a good thing, Pete.” _ Oh, good, _ thought Peter. _ Not mad enough to call me Peter, phew. _

“Yes, but Harry. Harry I can hear- _ everything _ , you know that! I can hear cats screaming from so far away, and the dogs in the park growling getting ready to fight. I- I can hear drug deals going on and I can hear children crying because their parents are hitting them and- and I can hear girls _ screaming _ , yelling for help Harry!” Peter became choked up. “I can _ hear _ all of this. And I know I could wear the headphones and block it all out but- Harry, that’s not me. I can’t do that. Not now that I know what actually happens in this city I can’t ignore it, please- _ please _ try to understand what I’m talking about.” There’s silence in their call, and he would think the screen had frozen with the way Harry remained so still if not for the way his chest still moved to breathe. May was at work so everything else in the apartment was silent. Today was a good day and while he could hear several blocks away, nothing was happening at the moment in the city - not that he could hear anyway. 

Harry took a deep breath and sighed, leaning his head forwards to rest on his hands as he rubbed at his eyes. 

“I know,” he says, after a tense silence. “I know,” he sighs again, and then they speak together. 

“Because when you have the power to help, and you don’t, and something happens, that happens because of you,” they say, smiling tiredly at one another after another moment. 

“Fine, okay, I won’t tell May, on one condition,” Harry relents. 

“Anything!” Peter promises. 

“As soon as I’m back in two weeks time for the holidays, we work on something more protective than what I’ve seen you wearing in YouTube videos. Got it?” Harry raises an eyebrow. 

“Yes! Got it, you’re the best Harry!” Peter tells him, blowing a kiss at him, which Harry pretend to catch with a roll of his eyes before blowing one back regardless. 

They talk for a while more before Peter decides to go out as Spider-Man. 

* * *

A week passes, and Peter sees a really nice car in front of the apartment block and his eyebrows scrunch together as he looks at it - it’s the kind of car that Harry gets driven around in when he goes to events without his father - arriving either before or after him meaning he had to get driven on his own - but also the kind of car Harry dreams of getting once he gets his license. Theoretically he could get one now if he really wanted to, but he’s practical enough to wait until he has his actual license before buying anything. 

He quickly walks up to the apartment, carrying an old DVD player he was going to scavenge for parts he might want. 

“Hey May, I saw the sleekest car outside,” he says, not looking at her as he places the player on the counter to clean up later. “Did Har-” he stopped talking as soon as he turned around to see who was there. 

Tony Stark. Doctor Tony Stark. Iron Man. 

Okay, Peter could handle this, he had been around super rich people before - though he could hardly remember, admittedly, since he had been so young, but he wasn’t intimidated by Tony Stark, who had proved himself to the public to be somebody who cared deeply about people even if he couldn’t relate to them, setting up programs and scholarships and everything you could name to help those at a disadvantage. 

Not like Norman Osborn who, despite being Harry’s father, they both agreed cared more for the money the company made than the reputation of it or himself. 

He was seen as ruthless because he was, he was seen as uninterested because, for the most part, he was. And that was what they were used to dealing with both in the press and in person; so Tony Stark did not intimidate him, but he did make him nervous. 

* * *

Long Story Short: Tony Stark knew who he was and now he was going to Germany to fight half of the Avengers and Peter didn’t know how he would explain this one to Harry. 

It was easy to find a copy of the Sokovia Accords since they were released into the public in the past week or so and he had been planning to read them, and he began to do so in his eight hours of flight time, already been told that once they get there he’s going to be able to take a shower and rest before they do anything. 

Though Happy had been telling him off and warning him about filming, he went ahead and did it regardless because he wanted to show it to Harry later. 

“Hey Harry.” The first thing he did once he was settled in the hotel but before he could shower was call Harry. It was 9pm currently, so he knew that Harry had been expecting his call for a while now and he had kept him waiting. 

“Peter? You’re so late calling,” Harry sounded worried, and even without being able to tell him Peter knew he was right to be. 

“Yeah, sorry. Look, some stuff happened and I got a visitor and, basically, I’m in Germany right now,” he let out a breathless laugh. He couldn’t help it. He was still in shock and disbelief over his circumstances. 

“What?!” There was a rustling of sheets and the snapping of a book closed, so he assumed Harry was ready to sleep and had been reading to try and distract himself from the fact that Peter hadn’t called. 

“Yeah, turns out my- uh- _ youtube videos _ videos went viral, and now a certain Tin Man wants my help to help subdue his friends. I’ve read through what they’re fighting about Harry, the entire document on my flight here. I’m scared. Mr Stark says he wants to change it, but I don’t know if he’ll actually be able to get it done. If he doesn’t then I’m subject to these laws, and Harry they sound like they could be awful. On the surface they’re okay, because they’re helping to reduce property damage and civilian casualties, but the way that superhumans are written here. Harry we’d be _ monsters _ in the eyes of the Accords.” He sighs and doesn’t say anything else, waiting while he hears the telltale clicks of the laptop keys. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll read through this and we can come up with a plan. I can think of several people right off the top of my head who will not like this.” 

“Okay,” Peter sighs. 

“We’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it, okay. But send me over any notes or suggestions you made but also make sure you send a copy to Stark and I’ll try to get in contact with The Professor. Got it?” 

“Yeah, got it.” 

“Now go shower and then go to sleep, I’ll see you in a week but call me before you leave Germany alright? Love you.” 

“Love you too,” Peter says, sighing happily before the call ends, smiling happily while he gets his stuff and heads to the bathroom. 

* * *

Peter manages to catch Tony before the battle even happens because of where he is being directed to by the man. He catches his arm before he can properly walk away. 

“I’ve read these documents Doctor Stark,” he tells him, chin up in his new suit. “I’m not a massive fan of what they could restrict for people of my kind, but I believe in what they represent. So, I am _ trusting you _ to stay true to what I believe you want, which is to change them so that they are fair and not as invasive. _ That, _ is the reason I am here at all and not simply preparing for this with other people I could contact,” Peter says. Stark looks at him, and he’s not yet wearing his armour so Peter can see the truth and determination in his eyes when he nods. 

“I’m going to do my best,” he says, and Peter believes him. 

* * *

While the fight was not supposed to happen, Peter knows, he actually appreciated the experience it now gave him from being able to test and push his limits to the furthest they’ve ever been, but he knows he could go further still if he wanted to. He and Harry are really going to have to test that. 

* * *

He does get to go on a small visit in Germany because of going out to get lunch with Happy instead of being cooped up in the hotel. Which isn’t really being “cooped up” since it’s huge and seems as big as the ones he and Harry would share as children when Harry was able to convince his mother and father to let Peter come with them on holidays at times, but even those times have stopped for Harry and his father in recent years. 

He records as much as he can and takes so many pictures his near-unused camera space before is basically full by the time they get back to the hotel. He’s being allowed to stay for a long-weekend due to the fact they told May it was for a science getaway basically, and he uploads all the photos to send to Harry as well as the videos. The ones he took not involving the fight at least, but those go onto his hard drive for later. 

Peter is enjoying himself, at least until he tunes his hearing in and hears Happy talking on the phone. “What the fuck do you mean you’re in the hospital Tony? - I don’t give a fuck quite frankly. How bad is it? - Mmhm, okay. Well what the fuck do you want me to do? I can hardly take the kid home and come back for you can I within like two hours? - Do I sound like I give a fuck, you went there and this happened, whether it was your fault or not, and you know that the kid is going to wonder where you are. - You literally told him you had no other business to deal with after the weekend and you need to get back to New York ASAP so that you can see Doctor Cho.” 

Peter stopped listening after that, but whatever happened, something was wrong and it had to do with the fact that Mr Stark was seriously injured, or something along those lines. 

* * *

Mr Stark tried to put on a front for them, or him at the very least if Happy knew what was going on, and it was a very good front too, and Peter was worried about how good he was at that. But he tried to not worry and instead had to try and deal with the humiliation that came with thinking that Mr Stark was offering a hug when he was, in fact, just _ getting the door _. 

Harry would laugh about this for the next ten years, he was sure, as he got out and said goodbye, taking his suitcase up to his and May’s apartment as the car drives off a few seconds after he’s inside. 

* * *

So, life carries on, he has a new suit and Harry comes home and is able to spend lots of time with him and they have fun in both his apartment and Harry’s large home. It’s quiet when they’re there, but they put music on through the connected speakers to make it seem like they’re less alone. Norman is on a business trip so they have the entire house basically to themselves aside from the few staff employed there. 

* * *

They have fun, they laugh, and dance, and bake, and spray whipped cream everywhere, and Harry learns to levitate himself for short amounts of time with his telekinetic abilities. 

They make the decision to visit the Xavier School for Gifted Students, a known mutant school being run since the eighties or so, if their research is correct. Headed by Professor Charles Xavier, Professor X, who is the most powerful telepath in the world, is what people say. He’s very open about his mutation, though apparently he didn’t used to be, and he is both best friends and enemies with Magneto, aka Erik Lensherr, which was about the only information they could find on the man that wasn’t related to his powers in some way. 

They were nervous, and each had told their guardian that they would be at the other’s place so that they weren’t questioned on their whereabouts. 

Their powers have grown a lot and they need help on what to do about The Accords, or what will be happening if they’re already working on them. The fact that Peter does in fact have a way to contact Mr Stark, and that Harry could very easily do the same thing, means that they could possibly open up that channel and be the middle-men for the two parties if they don’t want to actually meet up or whatever. 

Admittedly, maybe they’re being a little ambitious, they decide as they drive up the long driveway at 5:30 in the morning, knowing that they likely wouldn’t meet any students this way with it being so early on a Saturday, regardless of if it is their holiday as well. 

When they get out of the car, the door is opening an a man is stood there, shorter than most men (including Harry who’d had his growth spurt recently) but taller than Peter (who had not). 

“Come on,” he told them gruffly, and Peter could smell cigar smoke on him, knowing it was a different smell to usual cigarettes you could buy after so long of being around shady places and business deals gone wrong. 

They’re led to a room near the back of the house, entering what is clearly a study as they look at the man in the wheelchair sat behind the desk, seemingly unbothered by the early morning. 

“Thank you, Logan,” he tells the man, who nods with a slight grunt before leaving, closing the door behind him. His accent is most definitely a stereotypical British accent, something like what Harry’s classmates sounded like in all honesty. “Good morning boys, tea?” he asks them, as he begins pouring some for himself from a teapot that was already prepared it seems. 

“Yes, please,” answers Peter, who’s throat suddenly seems drier than a desert. Harry stands up to bring it to him with a gesture from the professor. 

“Now, as I understand it, you wish to discuss something of an official document with me,” he states calmly before taking a sip. “But first, let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Charles Xavier, I run this school for mutants. And you are?” 

“Harry Osborn, I’m telekinetic.” 

“Peter Parker, I have similar abilities to a spider,” he says, before taking a too-large sip of the too-hot liquid and regretting it instantly, even if he doesn’t show it, swallowing it down regardless. 

“Alright, now, start from the beginning, how did you come to be here.” 

“From the very beginning? Like, how we met or how we noticed our powers or why we came here?” 

“Wherever you wish to begin,” the professor answered Peter. 

“We met when we were five and six,” Peter starts. This is what he’s better at, emotional things, memories, relationships, personal developments, and Harry can deal with the actual business since he doesn’t fully understand what steps can be taken. “We’ve known each other for a while when we started developing our powers. For me, I developed these growths in my arms, which I later found allowed me to have my own version of a...web fluid? Harry’s was making small things fly across the room in tune with his emotions whether they be good or bad. For Harry, he just kept developing strength, he was able to move more and for longer. I became sticky, and it caused quite a few issues because I also developed increased strength so I was breaking a lot of things or ripping clothes and whatnot. My senses are ridiculously enhanced and I get panic attacks from them sometimes, and I became Spider-Man. Because I could hear _ so much _ and I knew I could help people, because I was enhanced.” The professor just nods with a kind look on his face, encouraging Peter to continue his story. “Well, Tony Stark came and...collected me, to fight in Berlin against the Rogue Avengers or whatever they’re being called now, and I found out that the reason they _ originally _ rebelled is because of the Sokovia Accords. I’ve read through them and I know the gist of them but I don’t really understand a lot of the technical legal things that they can do but- _ they want to track every enhanced person, mutant, anybody who can do something superhuman _ , as well as make sure that they can be detained indefinitely if they are deemed a risk to society, or have the simple _ possibility _ , they want to do so many bad things to enhanced people and mutants and I don’t want to have to sign them but I can’t _ not _ be Spider-Man because I have to help people.” 

“Also the fact that we’ll all have to be tested and if they deem us a threat from the start they’ll imprison us,” Harry adds on, taking Peter’s hand from where it was shaking on his thigh. 

“It sounds very much like the Mutant Registration Act,” the professor said after a few long moments, before sighing and resting his head in the cup of his hands. 

They sat in silence for several moments. 

“We don’t know anything about what’s going to happen with the Avengers, really, aside from the fact that they’d have to sign and be tested too if they’re enhanced in some way. This will affect people all around the world because it’s not just the US like the MRA was,” Harry continues to speak. “It will be every mutant, every human-experiment, every so-called Inhuman. Many countries have agreed to sign it and we know somewhat what we have to do, because Stark is the only one there right now fighting for any of our rights because he’s the only one who was able to get there, he barely managed to _ shoehorn _ his way into being such a big part of the decision making. But it’s going to be difficult, especially having seen the news coverage of what happened recently. Nobody will be on their side when it comes down to it, they’ll see them as a danger and as such, so are the rest of us.” Peter could detect a small waver in his voice. “We’re both in the public in our own ways, and while my mutation is hidden at the moment and not physical, I could slip up, or somebody could find out, or I just don’t pay attention _ one _ time. Peter’s mutation is much more physical than mine, his body changes and his DNA is wildly different, and he is a _ prime _ candidate for dissection.” Harry was speaking honestly, Peter knew, and it was something he himself could not help but think of since reading that they could be detained indefinitely in prison for no reason. Could see how Harry also came to the conclusion, especially since Harry had stayed up after Peter when doing research, probably having found out about mutant experimentation in the seventies and eighties before the main labs got shut down. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t done on the hush-hush, they both know. “He has physical attributes because he’s able to climb walls, stick to any surface, has what are basically silk production and storage sacks in his wrists. Not to mention his strength is proportionate to that of a spider, yet he’s still light as a feather. He’s _ public _ about his mutations, if not his identity, but that makes it worse because they know who to kidnap still because he has been so open about his abilities and has hidden his identity they _ will _see him as a threat to them,” Harry ranted, eyes wide and breath heaving as he finished, hand tight around Peter’s own. 

“Thank you, Harry,” the professor says, and Harry sags back into his chair, barely loosening his grip on Peter’s hand. “I have the strangest feeling we won’t be able to deal with this the way we did back in the seventies,” the professor mutters sarcastically, and Peter manages to crack a smile at that. 

“I’m scared,” Peter admits. “I’ve always been slightly scared while being Spider Man, because what if somebody finds out my identity and uses that information against me somehow. It wouldn’t be fair to anybody else. But, since I read the Accords, I’ve been scared for my life, not how it can be used against me. They don’t need to know my identity to take me. They don’t need to know about my family to hurt them. I could be taken off-guard or ambushed and taken and I would be able to do so little. And I’m scared because of it. I don’t want to leave May alone, and I don’t want her in danger, but I cannot go on hearing the screams I do in the night,” Peter explains. “I cannot lay in bed and try to sleep while I can- _ hear _ , a boy being _ fucking molested _,” he spits out. “Or while a girl is beaten by her step-mother because she has an Evil Queen complex or something, I don’t know. I cannot just pretend that it is not happening when it sounds like it is happening outside of my door. I can defend myself now, more than ever before, but those people can’t and it’s not fair that nothing would get done otherwise.” 

“You will have to be careful,” the professor tells him. “This is both your best and worst time to be doing what you are Spider Man. They will both want you off the street, to want you locked away, _ but _you’re not their biggest priority right now. The so-called Rogue Avengers will be for the foreseeable future. And, with the help of the staff here, as well as you boys by putting me into contact with Doctor Stark, we will be able to, hopefully, spread awareness and make amends to what is going on.” 

The only sound in the room is breathing, for a moment, and the ticking of the professors watch, and the slight hum of his and Harry’s phones in their pockets, not vibrating or going off in any way, but simply working. If he extends his ears further he can hear most occupants sleeping in their various ways, though several televisions are on or music still playing from movies that have been fallen asleep to. There’s somebody in a room on the level below doing something in the kitchen with various ingredients. 

“Thank you,” Harry says first, and Peter nods with him. 

“You’re very welcome,” he replies easily, smiling at them fondly. “You’re also welcome to stay the day if you wish.” 

“I think maybe we shouldn’t,” Peter answers sheepishly, because he knows the professor already knew their response. “Might be a bit awkward if Harry Osborn is here with some unknown kid and they’re together and they’re both mutants.” 

“Of course,” he says, and begins leading them out of the room once getting around his desk. They follow him to the elevator and he tells them briefly about what the school does and they smile at what he’s saying. Peter thinks it honestly sounds like a really good school, better suited for him than Midtown, and Harry even comments on it out loud as though he’s the one capable of reading minds. 

“While I would love it here,” Peter agrees. “I really don’t think I could leave the city, it’s where May is, and even though she’d support me I don’t think I could leave her more than anything.” 

“Very understandable, Peter,” the professor nods, as though he understands, and maybe he does, Peter doesn’t know his life story or anything. “The option is always open, or perhaps you could simply come on the occasional weekend if you wished.” 

“I’ll think about it,” Peter says, and he means it truthfully, that much is obvious in the honest smile the professor gives him back. 

It’s not even 7am yet but they’re going to leave before everybody else in the mansion awakens and begins asking questions. 

Since it was barely over an hour’s drive, they stopped to get some food as soon as they were back in the city, to eat as they drove. 

They were in one of the cars in the garage at the Osborn home, and since Harry recently got his provisional and that meant he was technically safe driving, Peter had let him drive since it would be so early in the morning, though he was not about to do it in the middle of the day when they could be stopped at every turn or something. 

He was stressed enough as it is. 

They slept for most of the day after that, being wrung out enough to sleep until near dinner time, where they each had an email in their accounts, from the professor who explained that if anything not urgent came up they could email him and get a reply quickly but anything that needed a quicker response time led him to include his telephone, with a request that they ring if going up there immediately for an emergency reason. He also told them that he would provide a report as to what decisions were made. 

They accepted it and sent their thanks in return. 

They went about the rest of the evening as they usually would, just watching movies together before going back to bed to sleep off any remaining exhaustion from being so emotionally drained after this morning. Not that it was a bad thing per se, but it was tiring more than anything. 

* * *

Harry went back to England as he usually did, and Peter “screwed the pooch” after trying to deal with some alien weapons that were being created, after he already caused a slight disaster with the help of Ned, who had found out who he was, at the Washington Monument, which was probably traumatising for all of them: them because of the situation they were in and him because it was up to him to get them out of there and it was relying solely- on- _ him _. 

It was a lot to take in, okay? 

So Peter got his Stark-made suit taken away, but what he had said to Harry and the Professor was true: he cannot lay in his bed and listen to the atrocities of the night, so Harry has new materials sent over - it will be better than his original suit but not as high-tech as his last one, and that will suit Peter just fine. He found that he liked Karen and the company she gave when he was on patrol and unable to speak with Harry, but sometimes the noise of the suit got too annoying, just the electronics whirring and being aware of them, it was frustrating, and the feel of the material wasn’t that great in some places because of how high-tech it was, but the materials that Harry sent ensured he would be warm and protected and “blend in with the night” according to the note. 

So, he went about his business, and asked Liz to Homecoming because he couldn’t go with Harry and she was really nice and wouldn’t like him romantically ever, at all, so it was perfect! 

Harry even said he could take her, so he asked her, and he clarified as just friends and then he found out who her dad is. 

And then he goes after the Vulture, gets a building dropped on himself, and manages to direct a plane through _ sheer strength alone _ as it descends onto the beach, before saving a guy who had, not thirty minutes before, tried to kill him, from exploding due to a malfunctioning exo-skeleton. 

Harry was going to kill him, quite frankly. 

Then he got offered a place on the Avengers, a test he says to Mr Stark, but he knows it isn’t because he can hear the preparations going on in the room next door, the journalists chatting, the sound of camera clicks to prepare and make sure all the settings are right, he would guess, but he doesn’t want it. Not anymore. Not until the Accords are fixed at the very least. And, even then, he’d have to think about it, about what it would mean for him and his future and possible career. 

* * *

**One Year Later…**

* * *

Peter goes to school, he does his work, he gets top grades, Flash doesn’t believe him about the Stark Internship despite the fact it’s actually real now, but he doesn’t care for his opinion anyway so doesn’t bother to listen to anything Flash says to him. 

Harry still loves him and vice versa, and Harry says he’s got an idea of how he wants Peter in his life in the future, so Peter smiles indulgently at him when he mentions it. 

Peter is, in fact, very close with Tony now, enough to call him Tony and even Dad when he’s high on meds from whatever injury he sustained badly enough to need pain meds for this time, and though he and Pepper have a child on the way, they say it’s up to him if he wants to be adopted so he can inherit the company. 

He’s been given time to think about it, and he doesn’t want to inherit the company, he couldn’t handle that kind of stress, but he would like to be adopted nonetheless. So he tells them that, because it had been something they’d discussed with May and he’d told May his entire thought process and gone through it with her. 

His last name would be Parker-Stark, and he would inherit property, cars, schematics, money, stocks, and always have a position available at the company if he wanted it, but he did not have to run the company. It would go down to their daughter instead, who would be trained from the age of 15, _ so, older than Harry was _, Peter thought, and she would get to appoint somebody else if she really wanted to but it would have to be a decision made with Peter if her parents were no longer around, otherwise they would be involved in the decision too. 

It was really for safety purposes more than anything what with what happened to Tony from Stane, and that was that, the decision over. 

Peter had to hide his amusement whenever he thought about spending his life with Harry when around Tony, because while he knew Tony supported his bisexuality (can’t really say anything himself) he didn’t know that Peter had been with Harry and had been for over a year now. 

Or even that he knew Harry at all, something which Harry found endlessly amusing. 

Improvements had been made with regards to the Sokovia Accords, being worked on by communities all around the world filled with mutants, enhanced, inhumans, and those were experimented on against their will and got stuck with the outcome. Everybody began protesting once they heard what could happen, because it simply wasn’t fair. 

Tony was still involved, but now there was Hank McCoy, Charles Xavier, Erik Lensherr (which almost gave Peter a heart attack when he saw Magneto kiss the professor on the forehead, only to be told that was normal when he visited one weekend), Jean Grey, Daisy Johnson, Jennifer Walters, Logan (as well as on behalf of Wade Wilson), Stephen Strange, and those were just who he recognised from America. 

The Rogue Avengers weren’t involved at all as it had been deemed they were unfit to speak for anybody regarding anything to do with international law. 

While they had been found somewhat not guilty for their actions to do with Berlin, they definitely were guilty of several terrorist acts before that, including Lagos, as well as Wanda Maximoff being held accountable for her help in aiding Ultron before that in Sokovia. 

Scott Lang and Sam Wilson had been given hefty fines and house arrest, same for Barton, except his wife also divorced him so he was back at a SHIELD facility and tasked with training new recruits but not allowed to leave a selected area without permission and an escort. James Buchanan Barnes was getting the proper help he needed in order to recover from his traumatic memories, if not regain his original ones. He had been found not guilty of his crimes due to lack of mental capacity; never having really been able to make decisions for his own since falling off the train, but it was decided that he would not face charges for his recent assaults because he was compromised and unknowing of what he was supposed to do - he had been living a calm, happy life in Bucharest before Steve Rogers came along. 

As for Steve Rogers and Wanda Maximoff, both were found extremely guilty of their crimes - terrorist actions, aiding and abetting a criminal, releasing top secret government information to the public, aiding terrorists, stealing/misusing money and then incorrectly filling in paperwork with regards to the money lost, psychological and emotional abuse, the list went on as far as Peter was aware. Maximoff had her powers just taken from her by Stephen Strange, as he was now Sorcerer Supreme. 

He was able to include his own thoughts and opinions in the new document since he was one of the few masked vigilantes around but also was underage, giving him a unique insight but more important in this case: unique worries. 

There was a whole team of lawyers that they consulted and used, a lot of them mutants or enhanced in some way, like Jennifer Walters and Matt Murdock. 

It was nice, to see the progression, to see how things were improving, to also be a part of that, even if it was in such a small way of expressing his worries - even the most outrageous ones - because he’s afraid if the governments get an inch, they’ll take a mile and he’ll never see the light of day again. 

While Tony had sighed fondly at him, Erik and Charles, who had both seen what happened to captured mutants when they weren’t deemed “useful” wholeheartedly listened to every single worry that he came up with and either told him how they could fix it, whether it was already covered in what they had written, or add it as something to bring up at the next meeting. The same went for the rest of the students at Xavier Mansion, the older ones were told what was going on and asked what they feared when it came to being known as mutants. Most of the time it was simply being experimented on, because it was a common one they all had, but sometimes they would be more focused on discrimination. So they also began drafting legislation they could put forward to the US government while in the process of this that could protect the rights of mutants and enhanced and inhumans because they weren’t always treated fairly. 

A press conference was finally held where Peter was the subject, because they’d decided he was going to be homeschooled for the rest of term, since it was barely into his final one in his second-to-last year at Midtown. 

He was bored, more than anything, and would like to focus on things that interest him, especially when that came to doing practical work. 

He was going to be working in an entirely new department focused on biochemical engineering, basically a combination of everything Peter was good at. He was looking forward to the hard work he was going to be putting in to help make changes that he was happy to be seeing in the world. 

The press conference they were holding was basically to explain the adoption, and an edited version of how they met, something similar to what they’d originally told May, and talked about their developing father-son relationship, exaggerated in some ways but others entirely truthful, but also to explain their steps from there. How they didn’t want to keep Peter a secret from the public if they could help it, while also telling them that he was only fifteen, so he needed his privacy and he would get it, because Tony knew what it was like to be in that situation and he didn’t want Peter to later resent him even a small amount because he was forced out of his comfort zone far too much. 

It made hearts in the room melt, including Peter’s own, honestly.

He doesn’t know if, after summer, he’ll do online college and work from home for somewhere like MIT, or if he would like to go to ESU or not so he would still go to campus but could live in the tower. 

But they don’t tell them anymore than a few basic things, as well as some things Peter doesn’t mind being out in the open - like his bisexuality, because people would learn eventually and it’s better to know who supports him from the beginning. 

“Tony doesn’t know this, but yes, I do have a boyfriend. Somebody I’ve known since I was really little, and we’ve been together for longer than I’ve known Tony,” Peter grins when asked, knowing that Tony’s current face will probably get compared to the shocked pikachu meme. “You’ll know who it is soon enough I’m sure,” he adds conversationally, before slipping his sunglasses on and sauntering back behind stage as best as he can to where May is waiting. 

“I think Harry’s gonna like that,” she tells him, and he nods, becoming jittery from nerves now that he no longer has to think about how he looks to other people and in front of cameras. 

“Excuse me, you have a what now?!” Tony says, still in shock, as he comes back himself. “Why haven’t we been introduced? I’m supposed to terrify him from ever wanting to be near you.” 

May snorts at him. “That’s not gonna happen. Plus you’ve already met him, technically.” 

“Oh my god. It’s Johnny Storm isn’t it?” Tony deadpans, and both Aunt and Nephew burst into laughter. 

“Fuck no!” Peter says wheezing his denial even as three adults tell him to watch his language. “Well, it’s not, but good guess?” Peter shrugs, before they began moving to the exit, fully wanting to leave by now. 

The reason they held the press conference today is because there is a gala tonight that Tony wants Peter to attend, his first one as a Parker-Stark, and they wanted to have it be fresh news that he’s been adopted. It’s exciting stuff, for the rest of them, and not Peter who has been training for how to handle press and various donors of different careers and positions in society without making a fool of himself too much. 

Peter thinks he’s got this handled, while May and Pepper think his awkwardness is charming, and then Tony thinks he is possibly doomed for failure. 

Peter’s expecting the worst but hoping for the best. 

Harry was the one who asked if he could reveal their relationship somehow, and Peter said he could go for it as long as it wasn’t humiliating in some way. He expected maybe a picture on his instagram or twitter announcing their one and a half year relationship or something, expressing his love for Peter. 

He did _ not _expect for Harry to turn up at the same gala as him, when he was supposed to be in England (when had that ever mattered in the past though) and striding across the room, both of them wearing brand new tuxedos with squeaky clean shoes shined to be their best, to kiss him on the hand before leading him to the dance floor. 

They had danced ballroom together when they were young, at the insistence of Miss Emily, but they hadn’t done more than mess around by themselves in recent months and he can hardly remember the movements. 

“Just follow me,” Harry whispers, secret smile on his face as he guides them, every single pair of eyes on them, and he hopes to Somebody Out There that Friday has access to the cameras in here so he can later go back and find Tony’s reaction - much as he loves him, that’s gotta be hilarious. 

“You’ve been brushing up,” Peter whispers back, matching secret smile of his own. 

“I’ve got to absolutely _ sweep you off your feet _,” he says, while doing exactly that, causing Peter to giggle slightly. 

The end of the song is nearing, and when that does come, Harry dipped him low and caught his lips in a chaste kiss. 

“I love you,” Peter tells him. 

“I love you too,” Harry says, before bringing them back upright. “I’ll post something more official tomorrow,” he winks. “But right now, I think we have somebody to speak with.” Harry nods behind them and Tony is stood there beside Pepper, who just smiles indulgently as Tony seems to be having trouble finding words, sipping on her iced water with nothing else to say.

**Author's Note:**

> I've not posted a fic in LITERAL YEARS despite always being on here bc im just that bitch sometimes I guess. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, please comment and kudos, I need the validation, this is not what it was originally supposed to be because I was originally planning on having like, just different songs that they dance to and explore the performance side of their childhoods growing up and what they would do together so I guess that means SEQUEL with more fluff bc this got way too serious im gonna go sleep. 
> 
> Anyway, my tumblr is interplanetarygirl and my insta is freya_ziabeth so see you there ig if you want  
Please like and comment bc i need the validation, love yous :*


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